Luna Loves Gardening

by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Fiona Lumbers

Reading age: 4 to 8

Published by Andersen, 2024

  • Picture books

About this book

It's the start of spring, and Luna and Dad are heading to the local community garden.

Dad loves gardening; he says it's "like digging up stories". Luna is curious to find out how. Nana and Grandpa are already there and have started digging to grow some potatoes. They explain that potatoes came all the way from the Incas in South America.

They encourage Luna to swap seeds with others in the garden, and to discover their stories. Luna has some callaloo seeds from her great-grandmother in Jamaica to swap. She receives calabash seeds from India, purple carrot seeds from Afghanistan and beetroot seeds from Ukraine. What's more, there's a story attached to each!

Once the seeds have been shared, it's time to get sowing. Eventually, the whole community garden is in bloom.

Award-winning Waterstones Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho and illustrator Fiona Lumbers have created a delightful series about Luna and all her passions. In this story, Luna not only learns about growing plants but also about the importance of gardening for the insects who help to pollinate them. She also learns about patience and sharing and discovers that different plants grow in different parts of the world.

The illustrations are breathtakingly beautiful and highly detailed. The front and back matter feature some fantastic nature ideas for little green fingers, including building a bug hotel, creating a DIY plant pot, and keeping a wildlife journal.

About the author

Joseph Coelho is an award-winning children's author, performance poet and playwright based in London. He is also the Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2022-2024. His debut poetry collection, Werewolf Club Rules, was the 2015 winner of the CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award. His second book, Overheard in a Tower Block, was shortlisted for the 2018 CLPE CLiPPA Poetry Award and is longlisted for the 2019 UKLA Book Awards. Joseph features in the BBC Teach 'Understanding Poetry' online series.

His work has poetry and performance at its heart, drawing on over 16 years' experience running dynamic creative literacy sessions in schools. He aims to inspire young people through stories and characters they can recognise.

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